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<p>The chances of being a victim of crime, on the railways or elsewhere, remain extremely
low. However, the Government is very concerned about increases in knife crime and
its impact on victims, families and communities. The action we are taking is set out
in our Serious Violence Strategy and includes new legislation in the Offensive Weapons
Bill and continuing police action under Operation Sceptre. The British Transport Police
also participate in Operation Sceptre and we expect the next national week of action
to take place in March 2019.</p><p>More widely, we have also been supporting the #knifefree
media campaign to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime and discourage
young people from carrying knives more generally. The Serious Violence Strategy includes
a strong focus on prevention and early intervention to stop young people being drawn
in to knife crime. Our Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million is already supporting
29 projects in England and Wales. Over £17 million has already been allocated to projects
delivering interventions to young people at risk of criminal involvement, gang exploitation
and county lines.</p><p>We are supporting 68 small community projects this year through
the anti-knife crime Community Fund. In addition, we have extended our support for
Redthread in hospital emergency departments to introduce its “teachable moment” youth
violence intervention work to hospi-tals in Birmingham and Nottingham.</p>
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